The present invention relates to an opening and/or closing control device in particular for a switchgear apparatus such as a circuit breaker comprising an armature mechanically connected to an actuating rod of the contacts of the apparatus and movable in a support block between a rest position and an active position, at least one permanent magnet and at least one winding, the magnet(s) being designed to hold the armature in the rest position, and the winding(s) being designed, when an opening order occurs due to a voltage surge or other (or respectively a closing order), to generate a magnetic field designed to counteract the force of the magnets so as to move the armature to the active position resulting in separation of the contacts (or respectively closing of the contacts).
A device is known comprising an armature mounted sliding linearly in a support, two permanent magnets arranged on each side of the sliding axis of the armature and one or more winding(s) fitted around the armature and designed to generate a magnetic field parallel to the above-mentioned sliding axis. It results from this linear movement of the armature that a relatively large air-gap has to be overcome at the beginning of movement of the armature to the active position. This results in a large quantity of energy (ampere-turns) being necessary at the outset to drive the armature.
Furthermore, during its linear movement, the armature tends to move laterally, attempting to place itself in a position in which the field is minimum, which results in frictions being liable to be generated on the bearings which may give rise to large stresses on said bearings.
The present invention solves these problems and proposes a control device of simple design wherein the energy necessary at the outset is reduced and which presents a high efficiency, and also a circuit breaker equipped with such a device.
For this purpose, the object of the present invention is to propose a device of the previously mentioned kind, this device being characterized in that the above-mentioned armature is mounted movable in rotation between two stops arranged in the support, said stops respectively bounding the above-mentioned two positions.
According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the armature comprises a part of elongate shape presenting two opposite ends of arced shape, said part being mounted in rotation around an axis extending perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the armature.
According to a particular feature, the device comprises two windings designed to respectively generate when energized two magnetic fields of opposite direction so as to drive the armature in rotation respectively in one direction to perform the opening operation of the contacts and in an opposite direction to perform a closing operation of the contacts.
According to another feature, the two windings are each situated between the two magnets, respectively on one and the other side of the axis so as to be mutually and angularly offset by an angle of about 180xc2x0.
The object of the invention is also to provide a circuit breaker comprising the previously mentioned features taken either alone or in combination.